Waste not, tax less!

Christmas lists are done, now for the political list

Bill Veazey

Topping the list at this time are the RCD issue in Rye and the Primary for the Presidential Election. Do the present officials, be they Selectmen, Conservation Commission, Rye Planning Board, or President of the United States act on behalf of all citizens, or primarily for the benefit of their cronies and the ‘good old boys’?

Time Magazine of Dec. 17, 2007, p.39, has an interesting article by Mark Halperin and Amy Sullivan, outlining the numerous issues and considerations upon which citizens probably will base their vote. Of the nearly 25 listed items, such as; illegal immigration, Iraq, abortion, environment, future terrorist attacks, not one mention is made of a candidate's opinion regarding spend first, tax second.

Rampant, excessive and wasteful spending of our tax dollars is discussed however, in another article of The Washington Post online at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/20/
AR2007122002518.html?hpid=topnews. It is well worth the brief read.

In my opinion, self-serving spending, called earmarks at the Federal level, is the number one demon of our governments at all levels today.

For the Presidential primary, I will vote for the candidate who has the experience and ability to guide our national affairs in a prudently economic way. One who sees our Federal government as it was intended from its inception; a limited central government of the individual States, the provider of a strong national defense and one with a philosophy of minimum taxation.

At local levels, where townspeople are directly affected, and where they have the most power with their one vote, it should be exercised to elect people with good public intentions, while drumming out the self-serving individuals who prey on the local treasury. Recent exposures of undue spending and cronyism in New Market, Portsmouth, Dover and Rye, all point to the lack of public exercising that valuable franchise and the dire need to do so.

And speaking of local issues, the assurances of town counsel that the proposal of THP for its RCD is legal (see Donovan memorandum of 12/9/07 in PB minutes of 12/11/07) with respect to the 'affordable' issue, combined with the extensive and diligent efforts of the planning board to insure compliance with the numerous design issues, it makes sense for the board to finalize the process and vote in favor of this unique RCD by approving the Special Use Permit at their January 8th meeting.

Twenty-two dwellings in Rye for seniors is a big step in the right direction. With it's successful completion other builders will see that the RCD ordinance is a viable avenue for development in Rye. I believe that Senior SERVE should redouble its efforts toward encouraging another RCD for seniors. Strike while the iron is hot!

The intent of this brief piece is simply to point out how important one’s vote can be and how powerful it is in reshaping the social and political world in which we live. To be able to vote is an American right, use it wisely, but, above all, don't throw it away. Express yourself on January 8th nationally, and become involved in your local issues all year round.



January, 2008